Name: Creamy Spinach Rigatoni Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 3 cups fresh spinach; 2 tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 medium onion ( finely diced); 2 cups heavy cream; 1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated); 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 ½ teaspoon salt; 8 oz rigatoni (cooked al dente); olive oil (to coat your pan)

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Okay this creamy spinach rigatoni is embarrassingly simple and I make it almost every week now! Onion, cream, parmesan, spinach, and that's it. No chicken to cook, no fifteen spices, nothing you have to plan for.

Overhead bowl of creamy spinach rigatoni coated in parmesan cream sauce with cracked pepper and parsley

The nutmeg is the part people always ask about. It's a quarter teaspoon and you can't really taste it as nutmeg, it just makes the cream taste rounder and less flat. I left it out the first few times because it seemed fussy and the sauce was noticeably boring. Nole hoovers this one and he is not usually a spinach person. I'll confidently say this is the best way to get the littles in your life eating more greens!

If you want more no-effort creamy pastas, my creamier carbonara is the one I make when the fridge is genuinely nearly empty, and my pastina is one of the coziest pick-me up meals on the whole site and ready in just 10 minutes!

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Ingredient Notes
Instructions
Creamy Spinach Rigatoni Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions for Creamy Spinach Rigatoni
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Pairing

Ingredient Notes

Forkful of creamy spinach rigatoni lifted above the bowl, showing wilted spinach clinging to the pasta

Fresh spinach. It looks like way too much when it goes in and then completely disappears, so don't worry. Frozen works if you thaw and squeeze it properly dry, otherwise all that water ends up in your sauce.
Heavy cream. This is what makes it silky so I wouldn't cut it down. Half and half works but comes out thinner. One reader used Fairlife milk and said it turned out fine, which is good to know!
Freshly grated parmesan. Please grate it yourself, pre-shredded is coated so it doesn't clump in the bag and that coating is exactly why it goes grainy instead of melting.
Nutmeg. A must, truly. It's a tiny amount and it's the difference between a cream sauce that tastes finished and one that tastes like it's missing something.
Rigatoni. One reader made this with cheese ravioli and said it was delicious, which I'm absolutely trying next. Any short shape with ridges works, the sauce needs something to hold onto.

See recipe card for remaining ingredients & quantities.

Instructions

Diced onion cooking in melted butter and olive oil in a pan

Sauté onions until translucent.

Heavy cream being poured into the pan over the softened onion

Add cream & spinach, let it thicken.

Cooked rigatoni added to the pan of creamy spinach sauce before mixing

Add in cooked pasta & mix.

Finished creamy spinach rigatoni served in a bowl with parsley and cracked pepper

Serve & enjoy!

Bowl of creamy spinach rigatoni with parsley and grated parmesan on top

Creamy Spinach Rigatoni Recipe

Rigatoni in a silky parmesan cream sauce with wilted spinach and a little nutmeg, done in 25 minutes.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, French, Italian

Calories: 787

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

3 cups fresh spinach
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion finely diced
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon salt
8 oz rigatoni cooked al dente
olive oil to coat your pan

Equipment

Method

On medium high heat, melt the butter with some olive oil. Add the diced onion and 1 teaspoon of salt, sautéing for 5 minutes until the onion turns soft and translucent.
Pour in the heavy cream and let it cook, stirring frequently, until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour with 3 tablespoon of water until smooth. Stir the flour mixture into the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens further.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese, ground nutmeg, and fresh spinach. Simmer until the spinach wilts, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the cooked rigatoni to the skillet and toss to coat the pasta evenly in the creamy spinach sauce.
Serve & Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 787kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 21gFat: 56gSaturated Fat: 35gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 1328mgPotassium: 432mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4230IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 418mgIron: 2mg

Notes

Storage

Keeps in the fridge for about 3 days in an airtight container, and it thickens up a lot as it sits so reheat it gently with a splash of cream or milk to bring it back.
I wouldn't bother freezing this one, cream sauces and cooked pasta both come back a bit sad, and it takes 25 minutes to just make it fresh.

Cook the rigatoni just under al dente. It keeps cooking once it hits the sauce and nobody wants mushy pasta.

Save a mug of pasta water before you drain. If the sauce goes too thick, a splash brings it right back.

This sauce needs more salt than you'd expect, and don't skip the nutmeg. Between the two of them that's the difference between tasting finished and tasting like something's missing.

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Let us know how it was!

Close up of creamy spinach rigatoni with a fork resting in the bowl, showing sauce coating the inside of the pasta tubes

Frequently Asked Questions for Creamy Spinach Rigatoni

Can I add chicken or shrimp to this?
Yes, and it's a good base for it. Cook it separately and stir it in at the end so it doesn't overcook while the sauce reduces.

Can I make this ahead for meal prep?
Yes, and it holds up better than most cream pastas. Keep it in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat with a splash of cream or milk, since it thickens overnight. If you're portioning it out, slightly undercook the rigatoni so it doesn't go soft by day three.

Can I make it without flour?
Yes. Cornstarch swaps one to one, or skip the slurry entirely and just let the cream reduce a few minutes longer.

How do I make the sauce thicker or thinner?
If it's too thin, let it reduce a few more minutes or add a little more of the flour slurry. Too thick, and a splash of pasta water or milk loosens it straight back up. It also thickens as it cools, so pull it slightly looser than you want it.

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